Livin' is easy for raccoons along lakefront

More and more of the animals are showing up at harbors, drawn by food scraps from garbage cans and well-intentioned visitors, according to Chicago Park District officials.

The problem has become so bad the district recently set out traps and captured 120 raccoons at Montrose, Belmont and Jackson harbors, said park district spokeswoman Zvez Kubat.

The district became aware of the problem toward the end of last summer, when boaters and other visitors complained that the animals were becoming increasingly aggressive.

"We had a family report to us that they were blocking them from getting to their boat, they were snarling at them," said Kubat.

Park officials also heard that the animals were living under docks and ransacking boats. "During the off season we discovered that they had infested two of our buildings along the lakefront and of course ransacked the place," she said.

The growing numbers became a public health issue because the animals carry roundworm that can be fatal to humans, she said.

The district eventually hired a subcontractor to set out traps, she said. The district paid $25,000, about $200 per animal.

Under state law, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources requires that raccoons be euthanized, she said. "We would have preferred to have them released in the wild but under state law we can't," she said.

There are no plans for another trapping operation, but district officials are monitoring the raccoon population.

The district never had to deal with a raccoon boom along the lakefront before, but sometimes have had to deal with spikes in nature areas.

The raccoons have been flourishing near harbors because more people are hitting the lakefront to fish, boat and relax -- and are ignoring a ban on feeding wildlife.

"These are wild animals and they can be aggressive so it’s for their own safety," she said.